NEED TO KNOW
University of Connecticut baseball player Connor Lane has been left with a permanent blind spot after hitting a foul ball into his face
Lane, previously a catcher, now plays as a pitcher and wears glasses to protect his remaining vision
Less than a year earlier, Lane recovered from surgery for a blood clot in his throwing arm
A college baseball player has been left with a permanent blind spot in his eye after a freak accident during batting practice.
Connor Lane, who plays for the University of Connecticut Huskies, took a swing and hit a foul into his face, which caused bleeding in the back of his eye, according to local news channel WTNH.
The incident permanently altered his vision, with Lane saying that the center of his vision in his right eye has gone. However, he still has his peripheral vision.
“I took a swing on a pitch and foul tipped and went into my eye,” Lane told the outlet. “I have a blind spot in my eye now for the rest of my life,” he added.
Stock image of the Elliot Ballpark on the campus of the University of Connecticut
Credit: Kirby Lee/Getty
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The student now needs to wear glasses to protect his good eye and prevent further damage to the other. He can still drive, read and do school work, despite his injury.
The Huskies had just had their first road trip and were five games into the season when the incident happened.
Lane was a catcher, but this injury has meant he can no longer play this position and is now continuing his stint on the team as a pitcher, per the outlet.
“The first thing I said actually, to our trainer, Katie, was at least I can still pitch,” he said in an interview uploaded to WTNH’s Facebook page.
This comes less than a year after Lane discovered a blood clot in the shoulder of his throwing arm, which ended his season prematurely.
He underwent surgery and had a “speedy recovery,” returning to the field in the fall of 2025.
“Scary. I didn’t know what it was but the doctors told me it was fairly common in swimmers and baseball players,” Lane told WTNH in January before the accident that altered his vision.
Symptoms of a blood clot include swelling, shortness of breath, coughing up blood and varicose vein changes, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Chest pain, high heart rate and pain, heat or discoloration are other warning signs to look out for.
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